UK bans TikTok on government devices
STORY: TikTok has come under increasing scrutiny due to fears that user data from the app owned by Beijing-based company ByteDance could end up in the hands of the Chinese government, undermining Western security interests.
Britain's National Cyber Security Centre has been reviewing whether TikTok should be barred from government phones, while the United States, Canada, Belgium and the European Commission have already banned the app.
Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden told parliament government devices would only be able to access third party apps from a pre-approved list.
"We are also going to ban the use of TikTok on government devices, we will so with immediate effect," he said.
The ban does not include personal devices and there would be limited exemptions where TikTok is required on government devices for operational reasons, Dowden added.
TikTok said it was disappointed by the ban.
